Dual Player of Jungle
by Mizuhara Yukie
Summary: The pedantic young girl who is a pursuer of knowledge, Kazahinomi Shinatsu. The story depicting her daily life with her fellow members of Jungle and her past on climbing up to become "J-Ranker". Under Hisui Nagare, they all seek to make revolution for a new world according to his wish. There will be addition of K: Dream of Green, K: Side Green Drama CD until K: Return of Kings.
1. Prologue - Knowledge

**Mizuhara Yukie finally comes back after being away for 5 years. To all the readers who have been following me until now, it is my deep apology to you that I didn't update my incomplete stories or couldn't answer your expectations. To your disappointment, I decided to put all of my incomplete stories as "Hiatus" and restart again this year. This is because after many years, my motivation to continue Inazuma Eleven is no longer there so I didn't know how should I write or continue it. Therefore, I want to go back to square one and restart with K: Return of Kings. If you are dissatisfied then I will not complain but I can't promise you to continue them anymore.**

 **My new term is also starting with IB waiting for me so time-consuming is a matter of time for me. Though, I really do want to make a fresh start this year. Please enjoy!**

* * *

 **#1 Knowledge**

The girl grew up seeing her parents from behind.

 _When was the last time that I've seen them? How many days have passed by then? Until they came back, how many books did I read again?_

Her father is a diplomat and her mother is a reporter. In human's common sense, they are workaholic parents who spend too much time at work and didn't even try to connect with her.

 _My room was full of bookshelves. When my father left, he said that if I'm bored then I can just read them to kill time. Sometimes, I also went to his study to find some of his collections._

She re-read them again and again and drove everything from facts about reality to unnecessary into her head one by one. Most of all, she tried to memorize information about weapons that she thought it might be useful in the future.

 _Before I realized, there wasn't any new book for me to read anymore. I was bored. At school, everyone kept a distance from me. I didn't know why and how to start a conversation with them at all._

She didn't know what it was like to love someone or to be loved by them. Maybe because of the gap between her family, her experience on relationship with strangers was zero. A girl who has no social skills.

 _Whenever they came back, they would give me another collections of new books as souvenir. Overwhelmed with eagerness and satisfaction, I simply ran back to my room to read it._

Despite living in a lonely childhood, she was content as long as she had books. She wanted to know more. She wanted to learn more. Even if that was the most trivial of the subjects, her brain cells kept shouting out that they want to know about this one. A detail that she had never once seen.

 _For many years, it was like an eternal return for me every time I reached to the last page and shifted to the new page of another book._

" _ **I want to create a world where each player can create their own scenario by their own ability. No one is bounded by rules or common sense. Everyone can have the power to make their own decisions and take responsibility for it. That is a new stage we are going to create for the game."**_

Humans can live according to how they want. All the mankind will gain powers and be equal to each other. People can use that power to take the responsibility of their life.

A world that is covered with enigmatic green.

" _ **That is my dream. Do you want to create a new future together with us, Kazahinomi Shinatsu?"**_

* * *

"Shinatsu-chan! Shinatsu-chan!"

Without any response, her aqua-blue colored eyes just took a glance at the purple-haired 30s man and turned back to the book she was holding while leaning against the base of the sofa.

"I am listening to you. What do you want to ask? Hurry up please." She flipped to the next page without any motivation to continue the conversation.

"Ever since I came back, you have been sitting at one place until now. It's not beautiful for a girl to lazing around at one place without doing anything." Yukari said as he applied the facial mask on his face. Gentle tapping different points of the mask one by one.

"I don't want to hear it from a transvestite who does sit for 1 hour to apply cosmetics on your face at such an age." Sukuna who was playing game at the corner chuckled at the insult that was directed to the older man.

"I am currently polishing myself! And what do you mean by _at_ _such an age_." He emphasized. "Shinatsu-chan?"

"He is more concerned about that?" Tenkei who was sitting at the table drinking beer shrugged at Yukari's reactions for being offended about "age" instead of the other one.

"I mean what I said." She replied "Reading this new book has more worth than applying cosmetics anyway."

"Shinatsu. What is that book called?" The wheel chaired King who was sitting at the opposite of Tenkei asked.

" _The Timekeeper_ by _Mitch Albom._ " She shifted her eye contact to Nagare. "It's talked about Dor, a man who invented the first clock was given mission to help two people who decided to give up their life about the appreciation of time."

"Time. It is true that time is something we should be respectful to. Affirmative." Nagare replied with a stern face which received a small smile from the girl who went back to her book again.

"Time is like a beautiful light that will end in a short moment." Yukari picked up a mirror to check his face and continued "If you don't know how to capture that moment and let it pass, you will soon regret for it."

"Yukari is right. Our time is limited so before the countdown stops, it is important to move on as fast as possible…for the beginning of a new world." The Green King smirked at the last word "I am excited."

 _A world that is covered with enigmatic green._

 _It is question that I can't decipher just by reading books._

 _From being alone in a room that was full of bookshelves, I was now staying inside this narrow room that was full of junk and these strange people._

* * *

 **That ends the prologue. The next chapter will be 1 or 2 months later depend on how busy I am with IB and free time that I will have. For those who want to know more about Shinatsu, you can visit my DeviantArt to check her background and picture that are owned by me.**


	2. Kindle

**It was faster than I thought as I didn't expect to finish this so fast. Blessing for my first week of** **school mainly no homework or class except for meeting and instruction about IB program of 2016. If any of you wants to know in-depth about Shinatsu's background and personality, then you can PM me or leave a review.** **I am happy enough if there is someone who wants to do it.**

* * *

 **#2 Kindle**

At the age of 12, other than books, the girl received a PDA from her parents as a birthday present for the first time. Though, it was simply for security purposes and that she was also at the age to also have a PDA for herself anyway.

 _At first, I went on the internet and found a lot books that I haven't read yet include the ones that were released recently. I began to look through various ways that could allow me to create a bank account without being discovered about my age._

Her objective was a very simple-minded one. She wanted to order the new books from foreign countries that had captured her eyes. Her craving for a new knowledge was unfathomable. And, that desire had led to unexpected encounter.

 _As I slide through a lot of pages, I found a forum about an unknown application that has a large influence on people of all ages, JUNGLE. Looking through the comments of users, it said that the application allows you to hack other people's devices, creates a perfect fake account that their real identity isn't known to others._

She slowly proceeded further into that giant tree of Green, mesmerized and came into contact with another of its branches. Its system of ranking, missions, and most of all, superpowers that will be received from King!

 _King, an abnormal existence who possesses supernatural power that exceeds human's expectations. I didn't know. I couldn't understand. I was unable to interpret it. I thought such a fantasy-like being could only be seen in books that have wizards and dragons that I had read, or possibly us human's absurd imaginations. It was a thesis without any reason or resolution no matter how many times I tried to put them altogether._

 _ **A mass of conundrum that couldn't be resolved no matter how many times you tried to.**_

The girl's heart trembled. It was as if a sharp-edged knife just peered into the depth of her heart muscle. Slowly but surely, her heart was filled with an irrepressible agitated feeling.

It wasn't uncertainty nor distress. She wasn't smiling at all, but just earlier…

 _Huh? What…was I…_

.

.

.

She was smiling.

* * *

As Shinatsu was a few steps away from the main headquarter, she heard lot clamorous noises that mixed together unharmoniously. But, without thinking, she could comprehend whose voices were that.

"Not again…" A small sigh came out. She was finally one step away from the Japanese-style door and slid it. Though, contrast to her expectation, the first thing caught her eye was Tenkei who was laughing and Yukari in a sour mood.

"Oh! Shinatsu-chan, you have finally came back after Yukari-chan!" The middle-aged man waved his hands as a welcome.

"Iwa-san and Yukari-san? That's unusual." Her words had set another fire at the latter one.

"What is unusual about me and Iwa-san, Shinatsu-chan?" Much to the girl's confusion, the effeminate man seemed to be irritating.

"Not really. Just earlier, I was just a few distances away and yet was able to hear an uproar inside here." She shrugged while explaining the situation. "I thought it might be you and Sukuna having a quarrel again so I was a bit surprised that it was actually you and Iwa-san."

Her explanation earned a smug smile from Tenkei.

"Well, your hypothesis was halfway." He said and suddenly pointed to the shower room "Both me and Yukari-chan just got our precious ice-cream and éclair stolen by the brat who's taking a bath right now. Not only he didn't apologize but also said something like _'Two old men are so irritating altogether.'_ or that _'You guys are brats'_."

"Iwa-san!" Yukari suddenly cut into the conversation with a scowl. "Can you please to stop lumping me together with you in the same category?! Didn't I tell you just earlier that I'm at Sukuna-chan's side of age?"

"Excuse me…"

She waved her hands to get the attention both the two adults. "In short, I understand that the three of you had a quarrel over food really well. However, I have to agree what Sukuna said to you two."

Hearing that remark, the purple-haired man's eyebrows raised slightly in annoyance. He was already affronted by Sukuna and Tenkei, now even Shinatsu also started. "What do you mean by _you two_ , Shinatsu-chan?"

That question simply earned a deadpan face from the said girl. But, she had generously replied to him with sincerity.

"It's because both you and Iwa-san are already above 20 years old. In the stages of human growth and development, you guys already reached adulthood. Moreover, Yukari-san, Sukuna is 12 so he's currently in the preadolescence stage as teenager."

"Hold on!"

"We're getting back to the same pattern again?" Tenkei joked around. He was amused by the explanation that the brown-haired girl gave. There wasn't any spitefulness behind her words at all. She only simply stated her response.

"I'm done with taking the bath." Behind Yukari, the said teenager came out from the shower room fully-clothed and a towel on his damp hair. "Shinatsu, you've came back!"

Sukuna walked up to her and noticed that she was holding a white plastic bag on her hand which contained something. Following where his eyes were looking at her, the girl showed the bag to them.

"I just made macaroons at the house of an aunty who's my acquaintance as tonight's dessert." Hearing that there will sweets to eat, Sukuna was beaming with joy on getting to eat her homemade sweets again.

Now, Sukuna's reaction only caused her to sigh again in defeat. She finally understood Yukari and Tenkei's feelings.

"Hey Sukuna, we'll eat it **after** dinner so don't think about eating it right now after you had eaten ice cream and éclair which contain high sugar level that can cause tooth decay. Don't blame us few days later if you get cavity so then we have to bring you to the dentist." As if his thought being read, the boy flinched which was changed to displease. He couldn't stand dentist, not to say the thought of stepping foot into a dentistry was already a horror.

"I know! Seriously, I just finally got back into good mood after being lectured by two old men and yet-"

"Sukuna-chan!"

 _My everyday life took a 180 degrees' turn since that astonishing moment._

 _The pleasure of discovering an impenetrable paradox._

 _I couldn't help but really really wanted to discover it._

* * *

 **A cookie for those who was able to guess that this is based on K: Side Green Drama CD, Child and Adult. This is my own version of how will the story continue if Shinatsu is also a part of the story. For those who don't know about the plot, I recommend you guys to listen to it in Tumblr. The few next chapters will contain major spoiler of K: Dream of Green and K: Return of Kings so please be cautious.**


	3. Kabbalistic

**Happy Lunar Year for those who are going to celebrate with families in their home countries. First 2 weeks of school with IB were quite tough with a lot of paperwork to do include for this holiday. At least I was able to write little by little everyday for this. In this chapter, I put 2 words that you might either confuse by its meaning in a different term so you can check at my author's note at the end to understand the meaning.**

* * *

 **#3 Kabbalistic**

She was absorbed into a riddle called Jungle. She first started from completing small missions as an E-Ranker to earn points. Out of those, there were also illegal missions. However, such thing didn't even cause her to bear in mind.

 _I tried to be patient and earned as many points as I could. After that, for the first time, I actually committed an illegal act that a person shouldn't do and that was also my original intention. I used my points to create mission for another user to make a bank account for me, and used that to purchase the books from other foreign counties that I wanted to read. If this wasn't illegal, then what should it be?_

Although she did question about that once. However, there wasn't a shred of uncertainty at all. Rather than that, the more she continued, the more intriguing she was. The girl was curious. The mastermind who created Jungle system, giving out missions and observing their movements behind the scene like a chess master.

 _Every human has a line that they should never cross. That line is like a tripwire that people can't see, but when they stumble on it, that line will always take you down. Nevertheless, that person, this King didn't give me that kind of impression at all. It was like inside that person, there wasn't even a thing such as 'line'. That King was just simply doing whatever floats his boat. Setting up a lemon bomb in the middle of a street. Hacking into the network to steal private information. Picking up a fight with the police. It was really absurd._

She was entertained by them. Every time she did, that feeling she experienced when she first discovered about the existence of Jungle would always coming back to her. All the things that she could only see inside the books, when she did and saw it with her own eyes, she unconsciously smiled again. She wanted to know it inside out. The next step occurred when she ranked-up to G-Ranker.

 _Jungle was like a needle in a haystack. There are two sides of everything like a coin. My hands were burning as if they were struck lightning right after I dropped my PDA. Subsequently, a green-colored lightning formed from every finger of my hands. The superpower that was only given to players who reached to G-Ranker. I couldn't take my eyes off._

One disappeared and another appeared. Its light was ironically beautiful and at the same time, she understood that it was also a deadly one. Similar to Icarus who lost his life for chasing after the sun, she was also hypnotized by the sun called Jungle and took a fatal path that she shouldn't continue to move on.

 _N-Ranker to U-Ranker, a few more points until the next level. During that time, I also tried harness my power and learned to control it. Completing a difficult mission also meant that it had a higher risk of failing which could lead to my downfall, especially missions where some players are assembled other than J-Ranker to compete in the frontline to fight another clan. Therefore, I usually worked in the dark to not get into the eyes of public. If it was needed, I had to used my power if I was discovered. Whenever I was forced into an unforeseen situation, I didn't notice the glint of excitement that formed in my eyes._

Instead of turning her back, she kept on climbing up the top of Jungle's hierarchy. It wasn't a judgment of right or wrong, nor attempting to become a top ranker like how the other players strived for. She just wanted to meet and know. Green King, the one who created this system and expanded his roots throughout the whole world. What was this unconventional king trying to do while watching people as if they were the chess pieces on a game board? The true colors of Jungle. To satisfy her avarice on joining all the pieces of a puzzle together, she had enough resolution to cross the line.

" _ **Do you know, Kazahinomi Shinatsu? You are an inquisitor who is barbaric more than anyone."**_

* * *

"I'm so sorry! I really didn't mean on bumping into you guys at all!" Shinatsu bowed her head while her lengthy tortilla brown hair fluttering down to the front from her back. Behind the innocent mask she wore that seemed to be pitiful, there wasn't any contrition or guilty at all.

"It's okay, you don't need to worry about it. You look quite cute, how about exchang-" One of the officer in blue uniforms gave her a sweet smile and picked up her bicycle like a gentlemen's courtesy for a lady. Though, the conversation didn't last long.

"You over there! Stop flirting around and hurry up or else we will lose sight of those group of Strains!" Another man who wore the same blue uniform called his partner to continue their seemed-liked mission.

The two of them continued on their run as if they were chasing someone in emergency. But, they had missed their chance to know that an important fact.

" _Mission complete! You've earned 100 JUNGLE points!"_ A purple PDA was taken out from her pocket where the source of notification came from with the screen glowing green color.

"Girls like to act helpless and weak to get guys to do their bidding, huh." It was a quote that she knew from a book about the relationship between men and women in different circumstances. It was surreal of how it did fit for this situation. Though, only a sigh came afterwards "Why Nagare-san suddenly gave me this kind of mission to mess around those blues?"

Later on, another unknown what looked smaller than Shinatsu came towards her from the back. She simply turned to the latter and handed the bicycle.

"Thank you for letting me borrow your bicycle."

" _You've earned 30 JUNGLE points!"_

"Your welcome." The girl walked away with joy beaming on her. "Yes! I've got point!"

"Now, I should also get into the usual one." Put her hand into another pocket, Shinatsu pulled out a different PDA which was white. Typing several buttons from the purple PDA, another notification came from the white one.

" _You've earned 100 JUNGLE points!"_

Finished her business, she began to head back to Jungle's main headquarter which was their secret base. Although she knew that charade was just a prank on Scepter 4 that Nagare had in his mind once in a while but the fact that having to go through trouble borrowing a bicycle was so tiresome. At least she had something to do to have some leisure out of boredom.

"You seem to be tired, aren't you?" Another person called out for her but this time was her fellow J-Ranker, Sukuna, with his black rod that was his weapon.

"Not really…" She replied as her hands rested against the back of her head, and turned back to the silver-haired boy. "I just simply finished the task that Nagare-san gave me to do."

"It's so unfair~" Sukuna pouted. "We are both J-Rankers and yet you can join the mission with your second avatar to conceal your real one while I have to be the camper."

"Unlike you who always let loose violently, I will finish my mission neatly. Moreover, most of the missions that I have to do are always having to mix in with civilians to complete so they are quite boring." Tilting her head with a tired look, she saw that on Sukuna's other hand was a plastic bag that has the brand of Shizume City's food market. She was able to have a grasp why the boy was here.

"Ah, did Iwa-san tell you to do errand again?" She asked the question despite knowing the answer. Seeing Sukuna's infuriating look, it was proven that her guess was right.

"That old man! Why does he always have to order me to do this kind of unnecessary things?!"

"Did you buy the right ingredients? If you accidentally bought the wrong ones again then Iwa-san will definitely throw a fit."

"Do-Don't treat me like a kid!" A shade of red immediately formed on the boy's face out of embarrassment and anger as his dark green eyes narowed. He whined. "Seriously! Why am I the only one who is always being treated like child?! Aren't you also not that different from me?!"

Shinatsu put a wry smile. "Physically yes. But maybe the contents of your brain is infant-level."

"Shinatsu!" From the corner of her eye, she could see some veins popped on the silver head, and that his cheek puffed up like a chipmunk. "I don't want to hear it from a bookworm like you!"

She decided to forgive him for his verbal attacks since he didn't really mean it, and not that she could contradict what he said was incorrect anyway.

"I take it back then. Since you do have extraordinary combat strength that an infant can't possess so you should be a Chuunibyou who is at the rebellious age, okay?" As she rephrased her comment, the boy didn't give a snappy comeback but, his sulking expression managed to convey _why do you have to compliment and being mean to me at the same time?!_

Instead of replying, Shinatsu only felt amused. Ah, if Yukari was here then he might say something like _'Being mean is also a part of love.'_ or _'Sukuna-chan, it's not beautiful to ask questions that you already know the answer."_

This wasn't the first time she got into a verbal fight with Sukuna, although it was always her win whenever she had to give him a lecture but it was a bless that she wasn't one of the victims to face his regular mockery like Yukari or Tenkei.

Might be because the two of them were about the same age.

"When we come back, I will challenge you to a game." Sukuna huffed with a grumpy face towards her. The blue-eyed girl shrugged her shoulders and deadpanned at him.

"It seems so like you to use that solution."

* * *

 **Camper:** **In gaming slang, it is used for player who doesn't move but stay in one place. It refers to Sukuna who couldn't take mission actively. For those who have either watch Season 2 or K: Dream of Green, I think all of you noticed that Sukuna always using gaming terms when he talked to people. For future chapters, I will also apply more of these words for Sukuna's conversation.**

 **Chuunibyou:** **Middle school 2** **nd** **year syndrome. It is a Japanese slang term to describe people, usually middle-schooled students, who manifest delusional behavior and think that one has special powers no other person has, and these people also tend to act like adults who know everything.**

 **Next would be a small climax of Shinatsu's meeting with the Green King, Hisui Nagare along with the other trio.**


	4. Keen

**#4 Keen**

Two sides of the same coin. That phrase might be the most fitting for what she had been up to until now as her last and foremost step to rank-up to a J-Rank. Point and mission were the most important for these players to advance to the next rank. That was the condition of this system.

 _When did that happen again? I gave a mission to a certain player to buy another PDA on a whim. Though, an idea came up to my mind. Once in a while, I would use that PDA to complete missions and amassed points little by little until now as a backup. From the first place, that wasn't a rule that a player couldn't use 2 PDAs. Players had the freedom to obtain JUNGLE points by any method that they wanted, cheating wasn't matter. First of all, nothing is certain but the unforeseen. I didn't expect the business book I read would come in handy for this._

Entrepreneurs are risk takers who are willing to take the risk as a natural part of trying to achieve goals but, her favorite key characteristics were creative and planning though. They must find innovative ways to solve to the problem through planning to change vision into reality. If she didn't have enough _raw materials_ known as JUNGLE points to manufacture the _goods_ , she would use the _inventory_ that she had held for this purpose.

 _Naturally, this inventory might not be enough for an E-Ranker to become an L-Ranker. In order to success, you will need a high probability for the profits. However, for me-_

" _You've earned 1500 JUNGLE points!"_

 _-it was more than enough._

" _ **You have ranked up! Kazahinomi Shinatsu has been promoted to J-Rank of JUNGLE. Congratulations!"**_

Once again, her hands were enwreathed by the illuminating lightning and the sensation that she felt when she first received this power also returned. No, this lightning used to be like a rope that could be removed from her hands at any time but, it became a magnet that was bounded to her.

 _The temporary power was given to every player would become permanent at J-Rank. Was this the reason why I felt a bit off with my power? Every little lightning that came out from my fingers kept extending continuously as if they were aiming for something. And, it will disappear as another one appeared again._

" _That was quite a clever way to rank up. You seem to be quite cunning despite having such a tranquil atmosphere."_

Behind her back, there was a feminine-looking man covered in black clothing. Wavy purple-haired that turned lilac under the moonlight. Lip gloss and no trace of acne scars as addition on his face, she thought whether this man had a preference for beauty care or not. The green parrot that was resting on his shoulders also caught her suspicious. Whereas, his presence caused her to have a hunch that he wasn't an ordinary person. Though, if she were to describe him in a word then, it would be…

 _A J-Ranker_ _ **transvestite**_ _who serves under the Green King?_

The moment those words came out from her mouth, his carefree face suddenly transformed an irritated one instead. On top of that, his left eyes also moved up and down in a continual motion.

" _Ara ara, you're also seem to be a straightforward one. Though, it's a bit unattractive to say those words to someone at your first meeting._

 _Did I hit a nerve? Anyway, if it was someone else, they may even refer this person in a different term that would sound more inappropriate._

At the next moment, his right hand was placed on his right chest. It was a gesture that signified respect when people greeting to each other.

" _Nice to meet you, Kazahinomi Shinatsu. I am Mishakuji Yukari, a J-Ranker of the Green Clan, Jungle. Our King, Hisui Nagare, has sent me here to welcome you as a new member of us J-Rankers."_

Without saying anything, she treaded upon the heels of that man called Yukari. She could finally discover the hidden agenda of the Green King which was also Jungle's true colors and the seed that spread the roots throughout this world.

When she reached to the goal, it ended up becoming an unexpected encounter for her in quite the opposite way.

" _Welcome to our Jungle's main headquarter, Kazahinomi Shinatsu. I am the 5_ _th_ _King, the Green King, Hisui Nagare."_

* * *

"Nagare-san, why do I also have to clean up the mess? You can just ask Yukari-san to take care of this place too."

 _"Sorry Shinatsu, it would just be quicker if all of the relay servers could be taken care of at the same time. My sincere apologies."_ The Green King, Hisui Nagare, was speaking through her PDA that she was holding on her right hand. _"Besides, I do think both you and Yukari are the best fit for this job."_

"More like we are the only choice to be in charge of cleaning up, right?"

Using the other two who were currently staying at home wasn't a wise move for him anyway. Tenkei was out of the equation since the Blue King could recognize his true identity. Sukuna on the other hand just charged ahead without thinking, which could only add fuel to fire, and it was also better not to reveal another J-Ranker to the enemy.

"Anyway, although the pretext failed but at least, you were able to fulfill your real objective to force the Blue King to use his power so now I have chance to do a small _experiment_ that I wanted to try."

A small groan was heard from the speaker.

 _"Not only Iwa-san but even you have seen through me as well. I am surprised."_

The response caused her to chuckle while spinning the silver metal rod on her left hand up-and-down, and now tried to be sarcastic.

"There isn't a single time that you would do something without a hidden objective, especially with this kind of mission. I'm not sure about Sukuna but I can guarantee with you that even Yukari-san has also realized your motive behind Mission 2055."

 _"I am shocked."_

"Okay, I will contact you again after finishing my task."

True to her words, the call was ended as her blue eyes gazed down to the factory from the top of another building where she was standing at. Her low ponytail was carried caressed by the gentle breeze along with the tips of her red ribbon.

"Yukari-san's right. His master's haiku is always clicking at a perfect timing."

1, 2, 3 or several lightning bolts was induced from her hand and suddenly vanished into her rod.

 **" _You must find your own way and overcome obstacles._ "**

Then, those said lightning began to extend one after another from the top of the rod. Correspondingly, a green colored Aura manifested from her body.

 **" _Then you will reach it._ "**

Putting her PDA back into the pocket of her gray cardigan, she took a glance at the 9 transparent plastic bags that were lying next to her feet and carried 3 of them up.

"Time for cleaning up."

* * *

"Lieutenant, this is Akiyama. We have found reached to the target location. As expected, this factory does have the relay server and we had also caught some Green clansmen." The messy black-haired clansman reported his superior with his brown-haired partner standing next to him.

" _Good job. Make sure to seize it and also captured those Green clansmen, and turned them in to the police."_

"Understand."

" _Though, you must keep your eyes on that relay server. Just earlier, Mishakuji Yukari just ambushed into our area and destroyed one. There is a high probability that man or another higher-ranking clansman is on the way to where you guys are."_

"We will be cautious."

The call ended as his partner came up to him.

"What's wrong, Akiyama?"

"Awashima Lieutanant told us to watch out an ambush from Mishakuji Yukari. That man just destroyed a relay server at the location where she is in charged of so this location might be the next one. Benzai, it's better to seize the relay server before they come."

The report earned a nod from Benzai. At that time, both started to give the next orders for their fellow members to-

 _Clang!_

The whole building turned silence at the sound of an object dropped, but no one knew the source. Until-

"Akiyama! Behind you!"

The moment Akiyama turned back to the said direction, surprise would be the only word to describe his reaction.

"What is that? Fog?!"

The first thing that caught their eyes was the content inside the plastic bag on the ground. A huge amount of fog rose the bag and it spread out rapidly.

 _Clang!_

 _Clang!_

Two more noises caught their attention. Similar to the first event, gas rose from 2 plastic bags and crawled from right to left, and before Akiyama realized, the concentration of this fog continued to increase that it had rise up to his torso. It was more like inside a building full of mist instead.

"We're screwed! They already made their move!" Leaving with no choice, the two had drew out their sword for emergency. Though, they were currently unable to navigate the enemy because this mist had blocked their view.

And then, a faint sound of someone's footsteps was approaching. One?

"All of you! Draw out your swords! We are being surrounded by enemy so you must not lose your composure in this-"

" **GUAHHH!"**

"What was that?" Said Benzai, who was the first one reacted to the voice which he was able to identify it belonged to one of the members. Did he get attacked?

" **WHO ARE Y-AHHH!"**

" **HOW DARE Y-"**

Two more people got defeated. Though, the brown-haired Blue clansman didn't hesitate to move away from where he was standing to where the noises came from. At that moment, he noticed a mysterious entity before it disappeared.

A green light. Twisting around like a wave.

 _I should have used less dry ices or maybe added water that has a lower temperature. At least I managed to throw the bag away immediately or else I could have got frostbites._

Shinatsu scratched her hair when that thought suddenly popped into her head. She was fortunate that Nagare did send her a GPS of this relay server which saved her time to locate it in this building where its atmospheric pressure had increased thanks to sublimation.

"Now, the finishing touches." Responded to what she said to herself, her left hand that was holding the silver rod raised and reached to the maximum point. Countless strings of lightning appeared from the rod, extending to the air continuously as they all wrapped around each other in a disarrayed pattern.

"Found you, Jungle!"

Behind her, there were 2 or 3 more Blue clansmen advancing their swords in order to capture her. Afterwards, everything moved in slow motion.

Her aqua blue eyes stared back at the enemies that were about to strike her with that razor-edged sword. In the depth of her eyes, there was neither dismay or worry reflected. Her grip tightened on the rod as all of the lightning strings fused together to form an extensive whip that was enveloped in the spring color of green. Forthwith, she bended her hands as she flipped it at an angle of 90 degrees to the left with her body also turned in the same angle.

Soon, everything turned black for the hapless Blue clansmen.

When they regained their conscious, they remembered that the last thing they saw was an optical green light moving in the mid-air without resistance of gravity, as if it was a twisted snake soaring in the sky.

"Nagare-san, mission complete for all of the given locations."

* * *

 **This is a spoiler for K Prelude Green Side: Mission 2055 which took place between K: Missing Kings and K: Return of Kings. In the Drama Cd, Nagare used the relay server to transmit his power to the chips and Yukari was later ordered to destroy it so I thought this Drama Cd would be the best fit to put Shinatsu in because of her role as a dual player of Jungle. Recently, I just had an Internal Assessment to plan an experiment for my Biology class and Business Test which motivated me to incorporate these 2 elements into this chapter as a demonstration for Shinatsu's intelligence. Anyway, we are getting closer to the peak on Shinatsu's decision to join hands with Nagare.**


	5. Kahuna

**I will simply seek for what I desire to know.**

 **A girl who has a tenacity for hidden knowledge, Kazahinomi Shinatsu.**

 **She takes steps by steps to perceive a new page of unsolvable riddles.**

 **The lines on the top are for Shinatsu's visual in K: Return of Kings 100 Days x 100 Visuals. For readers who don't know, 100 days before K: Return of Kings was aired last year, GoRA posted a visual of different characters each day which include some quotes about it so I thought of making one.**

* * *

 **#5 Kahuna**

The girl had finally taken a footstep into the secret headquarter of Jungle. No, instead of secret headquarter, it was an abandoned underground facility and its space was preposterously humongous.

 _Underground facility. There are a total of 10 floors and each floor has several exits to various locations of Shizume city. Not only that, the depth of this place might be even deeper than the depth of Australian sea. Calculating the total area of each floor, the architect could even get an award for architecture._

 _Yet, it wasn't discovered by anyone until now or even the government. Not even the surveillance cameras hanging around the city._

Following Mishakuji Yukari, they were taken to the 10th ground floor where the so called "main headquarter" was located. Every time her boot made contact with the ground, her eyes glanced from right to left, up and down.

 _In the shoes of an ordinary person with common sense, this was equal to loitering around in the inner citadel of a villain. Right now, if I was careless then I might be unable to return to the surface, like the victims who fell into the hands of Izanagi and be locked up forever in the underworld for the rest of their life according to the legend. Ah, no wonder that main gate was named Yomito Gate. The Green King does have a good sense of naming._

It was easy to imagine she was enjoying even the fact that she had been in a penny, in for a pound. To an extent where she couldn't go back. When that thought came to her mind, she unconsciously smiled again.

" _Welcome to our Jungle's main headquarter, Kazahinomi Shinatsu. I am the 5_ _th_ _King, the Green King, Hisui Nagare."_

She was currently standing inside a set of a Japanese style living room. The 6 tatami mats were slightly dirty along with the kitchen and most of the objects inside here were mainly junks. What is this place? _No, it was lie._

 _ **This less than average 6 tatami mat living room is the main headquarter?! What with these people or rather…this man?**_

A group of unusual people which gave her a sense of abnormality.

A silver-haired young boy who was about the same age as her sitting on besides a table.

A middle-aged man wearing a priest-like clothing held a can of beer.

In the center of that group, a wheel-chaired man wearing a straitjacket with a green parrot on top of his head.

" _Once again, all of us welcome you as a new executive of Jungle. You are 2_ _nd_ _person who have reached to the highest rank after Sukuna. I am happy."_

Ever since that first encounter with Jungle, she learned that in this world, there was actually an existence which was total opposite to the mundane daily life that she experienced, where book was her only source of pleasure.

 _The King who stood in front of me had something different than the others. Thinking about all the missions that he gave to low-ranked players and the atmosphere surrounding him, it was like…_ _ **an adult who possesses the mindset of a child.**_

 _A child. Ah, it did explain the reason why he just considered this whole system as his own game board and players as the chess pieces that he could discard when they were no longer capable of continuing the game. Take into account, the size of this King's brain has an equal weight to the brain of a kid._

While having a thought process, her legs took a step close to the Green King and both of their eyes made contact.

" _Well, in this situation, I think I'll have to show appreciation out of respect. Prior to a heartwarming welcome, I want to have something to be confirmed first."_

Her response to the King's words was returned with only one line from him. _Affirmative_. The girl just took his _kind offer_.

" _Green King-san. Hisui Nagare-san. Firstly, it's my pleasure to make your acquaintance, the creator of this Jungle system. That's why there is something I really want know. What is your true objective from creating this system and make people dancing in the palm of your hands?"_

 _"Dancing around? Negative. It sounds like as if what I am an antagonist here."_

 _"Giving players mission involves illegal acts, especially the special missions with large amount of points in return, and make them completing it instead of you. If there are chess pieces that become unnecessary when they fail, then just exclude them. You, the King, only need to sit idly by this place without suffering from any lost or danger and let them perform the scenario that you create. To be honest, if I've had walked in the shoes of an average man, I may consider you as a villain."_

Confused and bewildered. Observing the King's expression and hearing his response, she was able to confirm one thing.

 _This man, Hisui Nagare, doesn't have a sense of awareness on whether his actions are bad and in his eyes, crossing over the line wasn't even something that people mustn't do._

At that moment, her smile returned. The childish smile of a child that found a new toy to play with.

 _"Well, I don't really bother about such tedious thing because of your Jungle system, I was able to encounter and experience many anomalous events by my own eyes. That's also why I climbed up all the way here to be able to see the continuation of this game. Your true objective behind all of this, it isn't just simply an entertainment of playing around with people, right?"_

When that question came out, puzzlingly, the confused face he just wore now replaced with the same stoic face she first saw.

" _Do you know, Kazahinomi Shinatsu? You are an inquisitor who is barbaric more than anyone."_

 _Huh?_

Hisui Nagare dropped a bombshell on her when he said those words. Barbaric. It was the first time that she was being told from someone with that word.

" _There is a quote 'If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things'. After observing you for a while, I can see that in your eyes, there is an unquenchable yet frightening tenacity for knowledge."_

Those words threw her off.

" _You crave to discover all the things you doubt in this world and wish to witness it with your own eyes. Whether it is good or evil, it does not even apply to you. Selfish and inquisitive, those are your real essences."_

Those words sent a shiver down her spine behind her impassive expression.

" _Then do you not think this game has what you desire? A game where all the humans in this world can live freely without being bounded by rule."_

Those words. She couldn't comprehend it.

" _Dresden Slate. I think you do know if you learned about the existence of King. I aim to seize the slate and release it so all the people in this world will receive power. Everyone can stand in one game board together."  
_

A world without rules. The continuation of this game. All the people in this world receive power and be the same as each other.

" _I want to create a world where each player can create their own scenario by their own ability. No one is bounded by rules or common sense. Everyone can have the power to make their own decisions and take responsibility for it. That is a new stage we are going to create for the game."_

Each person could utilize power according to one's desire. Whether it was justice and injustice, the choice belonged to the person itself. That was extremely extravagant.

 _Though, a world like that…would surely be a catastrophic one. Clashing of power. There would be nothing but destruction. It;s world where no one would ever or never wanted to think of. No one could imagine what would happen. And yet-_

Inside her head, there was a lot of things that she couldn't interpret right away. Her hands were trembling and couldn't take her eyes off from him.

" _That is my dream. Do you want to create a new future together with us, Kazahinomi Shinatsu?"_

Dream. Hisui's Nagare dream. Freedom and independence.

Finally, her answer.

" _Hisui Nagare-san, you-"_

* * *

"-or something like that happened, right? You were really outrageous at that time. Calling someone barbaric out of blue."

"I am puzzled. Were you mad?"

Now, she found herself sitting in this 6 tatami mat living room and feeding the wheel-chaired man a slice of strawberry short cake here.

Why was she feeding him? The cause was Nagare wanted to eat cake and Tenkei shoved the plate onto her because the latter said something like it's better for a woman to feed a man.

"Instead of indignant, I was really appalled on being called like that by someone for the first time in my life." Her aqua-blue colored eyes glinted in amusement as she used the fork to cut another slice of cake. "You really don't have any delicacy at all."

"How unfortunate."

Again, he showed the same confused and bewildered face that she saw at the first meeting. Nagare lacked common sense of adults of his age so even now, she felt that she was talking to a junior. However, after hearing his past from Tenkei and Yukari, she was able to understand the reason behind it.

 _After observing you for a while, I can see that in your eyes, there is an unquenchable yet frightening tenacity for knowledge._

While remembering what he said to her at that time, it made her feel ironic. He said that she possessed a frightening tenacity for knowledge but, the King who was sitting in front of her had been chasing his dream for the past 14 years.

His dream of changing the world to one where people evolve into beings that possess power and can live freely by themselves without depending on others.

 _That tenacity of yours might be more frightening though._

The sound of fork hitting against the plate rang when the slice of cake was stabbed.

"In the end, I decided to follow up with you guys and unexpectedly, we're almost near to the countdown." Shinatsu grinned when she realized that 2 years had passed since that day, she officially became a minion of villain.

However, she didn't regret her choice.

"Whether that world is a bad or good one isn't my concern but, what I want to see is the changes that you'll spread out throughout the world."

' _Doubt is the origin of wisdom.'_

 _That was my favourite quote. Selfish and inquisitive._

* * *

 **My apology if the flashback was so long for readers to read. Nagare is a pretty complex character since he is childish mentally so it took more time to type out the conversation between him and Shinatsu in the flashback.**

 **Additionally, the 2 quotes I used for this chapter belonged to Rene Descartes who was a famous French philosopher, mathematician and scientist. Most of his quotes are very inspiring which fit the theme of knowledge for Shinatsu. I actually prefer the Japanese meaning of these quotes.**


	6. Kibosh

**#6 Kibosh**

In literary concept, a tragic hero is destined to meet his downfall despite his best efforts to pursue and fulfill his dreams. In Aristotle's definition, "a tragic hero is a virtuous man whose misfortune is brought about not by depravity, but by some error or fragility".

 _Once upon a time, there was a great kingdom ruled by the 7 Kings who each had their own territory and squad. Each king is associated with a color. Amongst them, there was a king who was greatly respected by his subordinates and civilians. He wished to create an ideal paradise for people to live in by the power he was bestowed to. The king believed that he could protect and save people. His power and influence were the 2_ _nd_ _strongest to the most powerful king of the kingdom which was ruled by 7 kings who possessed 7 colors._

For instance, Oedipus was a great king with ideal traits yet, the arrogance came from his prideful personality blinded him from accepting the truth and his own fate. Killing his father and marrying his mother.

 _One day, a sudden catastrophe arrived to the kingdom which was caused by the Red king who couldn't put his power under control. Without any hesitance, the king led his subordinates to stop the Red King before the latter's power went to berserk. After that, the catastrophe ended but what left was despair._

A tragic hero is always holding a dream which is very magnificent yet, it is also incapable of achieving. People don't know whether it is fate or coincidence but, the outcome he will receive is a miserable one. Naïve. Immature. A fool's dream.

 _He couldn't stop the other king. The catastrophe continued until the Red king's life was taken by the Blue king. In the end, he survived but, his lost his subordinates and there was a total of 700,000 deaths. The king was devastated while standing alone in the ruins without any presence in sight._ _He couldn't save or protect anyone. The ideals he cherished the most became the catalyst led to his downfall. He learned that this power couldn't change anything at all._

Despair event horizon. A vital element of Tragedy which involves a person or event destroys any last remaining hope that heroes carry. The person will be perfectly damaged mentally. Conceivably, they may even lose the will to live.

 _The king who, more than anyone else, believed in his ideals, and by them was driven into despair. That is the tragic hero who was called the 6_ _th_ _King, the Gray King, Ootori Seigo._

The End.

" _Iwa-san, I think that compared to tragic stories of Greek Mythology, your Ootori Seigo's tragedy is more touching and has a better ring to it."_

* * *

In 1878, a spark ignited the flour dust within Washburn A Mill of Minnesota which created an explosion. 18 people were instantly killed and five other mills along with Washburn A were also destroyed. This was later known as the Great Mill Disaster.

As Shinatsu scrolled through the page she was reading from her PDA, a black-haired young man with a sword hanging on his waist and a hetorochromatic pink-haired girl were strolling on the street of Shizume town.

"Combustion of glucose."

She whispered those words out small enough so that no one could hear her. In the next moment, her eye contacted moved from her phone to the 3 people in front of her.

 _Mission 2065 Starts._

"Take this! Present for you!"

As if a wind just passed through their ears, they didn't see whose voice was that and there wasn't anyone beside them.

Those were the words the two heard before they realized that a packet was thrown to their direction and worst of all, that packet wasn't sealed. A bunch of flour was falling out of its content and their bodies were covered with grains of flour. They were white as a ghost.

"Nyaaaa! What is that?!

"That stranger who just passed through us must be another clansman of Jungle."

White flour is made up of starch which is formed by monosaccharide chains of sugar molecules.

" _You've earned 50 JUNGLE points!"_

Then, 2 more bags of flour were thrown to both of them again. The grains spread out to the atmosphere and began to look like a faint smoke screen.

"Take this!"

Unknown to the duo, a matchstick of fire was also thrown into the "smoke screen".

It is common sense that glucose is highly flammable which can create a dust explosion. If its particles are at a sufficiently high concentration in the air, the flour can become an explosive gas.

" _You've earned 150 JUGLE points!"_

The moment the matchstick landed on the ground, there was an eruption of fire and smoke detonated followed by clamorous noises reverberated in the street.

When the requirements are met, it will generate a dust explosion.

Shinatsu's eyes immediately returned back to the writing she was reading in her PDA from the television which was displaying Yatogami Kuroh and Neko being chased around by the low-rank clansmen of Jungle. Flours and matchsticks were thrown to them continuously whenever they went as both somehow managed to escape from continuous explosions.

Their mission was to harass these two clansmen of Silver Clan in order to lure out the Silver King, Adolf K. Weissman. So, giving out missions to low-rank players to perform this _experiment_ for her was convenient. Though, this was just based on a whim when she was reading this and it became a good inspiration for her.

 **Mission 2065: Find Yatogami Kuroh and Strain woman. If you find them, throw at least a bag of flour and matchsticks of fire at them. The more explosions you create; the more points you will get. Start from here, time limit is 3 hours. For those who aim to be a top-ranker, please do not miss this chance!**

"Shinatsu, you really do have a nasty personality."

"Yatogami Kuroh and Ameno Miyabi won't die so easily from this anyway. The worst they get may be annoyance out of being messed around like that. Moreover, Iwa-san, that's the 3rd can of beer you drink today so please restrict yourselves from drinking more."

Turning off her PDA, she stood up and took the empty can of beer from Tenkei was holding on his hand. Sometimes, she found his habit of drinking beer everyday excessively inappropriate and had to remind him repeatedly. Unfortunately, it seemed like there was a filter in Tenkei's brain which couldn't allow her words to process through his head.

"Please understand my feelings." He whined. "Iwa-san can't survive without this precious beer of mine."

It wasn't the first time she heard this excuse. She really had never heard a more _convincing_ excuse in her life.

 _In the past, he was called Ootori Seigo, a virtuous and great King. Now, his downfall made him into this kind of irresponsible old man. This kind of tragedy is quite recherché to witness in real life._

"Shouldn't it be Iwa-san can't survive from his pain without drinking alcohol to reduce it? Excessive drinking can cause dysfunction of liver; you know?"

For a brief moment, her words just rubbed salt in his wound. The wound which still remained deep inside his heart. The wound which was a creation of his despair.

Most of all, Shinatsu didn't recognize what she just told him and Tenkei also didn't reply to her comment. He already knew how oblivious this girl was to her bluntness.

He simply giggled.

"You are really nasty after all, Shinatsu."

She simply replied with a puzzled look.

"Iwa-san, please don't forget that you're a coward as well."

 _The king who, more than anyone else, believed in his ideals, and by them was driven into despair._

* * *

 **Another promising chapters for patient readers again. In this chapter, the main focus is Iwafune Tenkei and the theme for this chapter is tragedy. Looking into his backgrounds as Ootori Seigo, I saw a connection between him and tragic heroes of Greek Mythology where a certain event demolish their life. Kagutsu Incident which killed 700,000 people and Great Mill Disaster which killed 18 people. It was riveting for me to connect all of these ideas together and I put a bit of fairy tale into this due to inspiration from the new K: Return of Kings poster of Hakumaitou with Grimm Fairy Tales I bought. The poster is extremely beautiful!**


	7. Kalon

**Summer holiday started and yet there were a lot of assignments for me to hand in at the start of Term 3. I have to admit that IB is literally burning myself mentally that I begin to get exhausted now. I did say I can only update every 1 or 2 months so I can't make any promise. Small spoiler for those who haven't watched K: Return of Kings but we finally move on to the main storyline of this anime with addition of K: Dream of Green.**

* * *

 **#7 Kalon**

Mishakuji Yukari. An eccentric man who has an obsession for "beauty". Flamboyant and free-spirited. That was her second impression of this man.

 _Unlike Gojou Sukuna who joined Jungle to enjoy Nagare-san's game, Mishakuji Yukari came to this place because he said that he wishes to witness the brightness of "hidden flowers" within people when they bloom._

" _Does that mean you want all the people in this world to be equal to each other in term of power? You're bored of this peaceful world where people have to rely on another individual, aren't you?"_

Once, she asked him a question. People consider the most beautiful thing is something which is reflected to their eyes. Then for this man, the most beautiful thing for him is the radiance people show when they exceed their own limit in a battle where he can cross swords with them equally.

" _Doesn't that just make you a wild beast who is searching for a competitor to shed blood with?"_

A second question without waiting for his answer. After going through many interpretation, she could conclude that there is something wrong with this man inside.

" _Shinatsu-chan, you really do think of me as a beast like Nagare-chan had said? Then, what about you?"_

In the world, people are fated to encounter things that might be seen as impossible or unpredicted. The girl knew. This was what she wanted to learn from here. A man who is a human and yet, not 'human' at the same time.

 _I see, my heart was agitating with this "twisted" excitement again. Did this transvestite see through my heart too?_

" _My answer, I do. However, I'll also not deny that there is something wrong with me inside. No, shouldn't it be there is something wrong with us_ _inside,_ _ **Yukari-san**_ _?_

Ever since that moment, she decided to step over her boundary further and further. An action which was opposite to basic human rights.

 _Ah, it was obvious that I couldn't win Yukari-san anyway but, my aim was to allow him to keep driving me to the corner until I could break my own limiter._

A "mock" battle. Something which was in the category "normal" of Jungle. It was for the purpose of awakening the power she received from the King. She decided to continue to walk deeper in the forbidden deep jungle.

 _He would definitely be charged under the crime of committing violence against children. Though, in this place, such thing wasn't matter anyway._

That was how she got kicked into the wall by his leg from the back. Her body stopped flying in the mid-air when it bumped in a pillar. The pressure on her spinal nerve roots caused pain on the lower back when she landed on the ground.

 _I heard myself groan when my eyes opened and looked up to the sword master in front of me. It seemed my stamina almost dropped to zero. My mind was hopelessly as blank as an empty bottle. There was no water to fill the content right now._

She began to see some black spots kept appearing continuously on her sight. Every object which was taken through her eyes split into two. Yet, the fingers linked to her organs were burning even though she didn't make contact with fire. She might couldn't take a deep breath if she received another strike from him again.

 _It wasn't enough. I needed him to "crush" me even more. To the point where my flow of concentration would finally reach to a single point._

" _You can surrender now if you want, Shinatsu-chan. I may kill you for real in this one. Are you sure you want to continue?"_

" _Shouldn't that be okay for you?"_

She heard herself chuckle as she stood up while maintain balance. She might have turned into a masochistic but she wanted him to attack her even more. In adventure stories she read, the hero is driven to corner by antagonist. Unconsiously, their mind and body will concentrate at one point which awaken the inner power within them.

" _For you, this form of 'training' is similar to a sword battle anyway. For me, to be able to see the wild beast performing a sword dance is really entertaining and mystic. Can you please continue, Yu-ka-ri-san?"_

Within one second, the wild beast jumped elegantly and pointed his sharp blade to her face. Once again, multiple green lightings extended from her hand to the length of a string and wrapped the sharp blade 1 meter away from her.

 _Nagare-san had said. Now that I had received this 'Change' power in permanent form. Change means altering its shape to an existence that one wishes one. It reflects who you are. Those were the words he told me when he handed me this "new" weapon on my hand._

Gojou Sukuna's scythe represents his wish to slice through everything that try to hinder him. The symbol of rebellion against those who want to control him.  
Mishakuji Yukari's sword represents his wish to always being on his most beautiful form at any time. The symbol of perfect beauty, both in appearance and sword skills.

 _While relying on my man-power to restrict him from pointing his sword further to my face, I realized that my 'strings' didn't have enough power to catch up to him. I couldn't chase after him further than that. Then-_

Her whole life was solely to acquire unconventional knowledge that she couldn't understand just by reading books. If she wanted to achieve something, she just simply continued to chase after it until she could hold it in the grasp of her hands. That was who she is.

 _Advancing towards my own goal without being restricted by anyone, even if it was equal to cross over my boundary._

" _I see, so the answer was already beside me the whole time."_

Unknown to her, she didn't realize the moment her thought was drifting to another one, the distraction left an opening for the sharp blade to close the distance between her face further.

Then, everything seemed to have turned to slow motion from her perspective.

 _The metal rod which was held firmly in the fist of my hand. Many little lightings kept flowing out from my fingers and magnetically attracted to the rod. The beautiful wild beast in front of me. And, a snake._

 **When the wild beast tried to take the prey which was supposed to collapse by his claws, instead of a squirrel, his visual perception was covered with green color.**

 _Was it because of fatigue? Or my stamina had finally reached its limit? Or this sudden release of energy had exhausted myself? On my hand was an illuminating green colored whip materialized from the rod with several green sparks. In front of me was Yukari-san's hand restrained by the whip. The blade of his sword was one centimeter away from my eyes._

 **Instead of a squirrel, the wild beast saw that little animal transformed into a snake which trapped his body into its tail.**

 _Then, the last thing I felt was tiredness. The last thing I heard was a 'thud' sound. The last thing I saw was a black curtain blocked my eyesight._

* * *

" _I'll also join this mission. It's more interesting to see your battle against Yatogami Kuroh up close than from television."_

"In the end I'm the only audience of this 'game'. What a shame, I wish Sukuna can also tag along with two of us too." Her aqua marine eyes looked up to the wide blue yonder whose color was paler than the color of her eyes. She talked in a tone as if she was pouting yet, the Cheshire cat's grin on her face betrayed it.

"Sukuna-chan is whimsical kid. His mood changes out of blue so just let him be." Yukari, who was walking beside her with Kotosaki landing on his shoulder, replied.

Needlessly to say, their _youngest child_ was sulking because this man _refused_ to give Sukuna permission to join his battle against Yatogami Kuroh. Needlessly to say, the boy then just left them along happily after Nagare called him for another 'extra' mission.

"Are you sure don't want to join him, Shinatsu-chan? There are little Yatagarasu from Homra and glasses-boy from Scepter 4 so you can take one too."

"It's okay. If I actually did, Sukuna may sulking again because I take one of his preys." She raised both of her arms half-way with her head turned slightly lower to the right side. "Didn't I already say. I just want to observe your battle with Yatogami Kuroh up close because it's more interesting. Moreover-"

Her eyes turned from right to left and to Yukari. That smile that she occasionally put came back.

"-it's a rare scenery to see a _wild beast_ to their heart on killing a prey for real."

Obviously, Yukari could interpret the metaphor she was using to him. After two years of living together as fellow J-Rankers, he also came to understand that placid yet twisted personality of hers was one of the reasons why she decided to follow Nagare.

 _It seems like unlike Sukuna-chan, you and me may be more similar to each other, Shinatsu-chan._

"I don't mind as long as you don't get in my way. We also have another mission to bring Ameno Miyabi-chan to our King. You can constrain her so that she won't get into my battle with Kuroh-chan."

Ameno Miyabi. The strain girl who claimed herself as Neko and another person who their King actually paid attention to other than the Silver King.

"Now that you mention, Nagare-san did say that we must bring her back unharmed." Five seconds of silence, Shinatsu nodded. "Okay. You guys are the main characters of this stage so we side-characters aren't allowed to interfere afterall."

Their walk continued to the bridge of Ashinaka Academy's where they were going to meet the targets of this mission. While walking, Shinatsu was playing with her weapon as the familiar green lightings were rising and dancing to a single point. As if they were heading towards a single goal.

These lightings were the answer she had found before she collapsed. Her whip represents her wish to search for the knowledge she desires to know. The symbol of tenacity to pursue for what she wants to seize.

* * *

 **The story is moving on to Episode 3 of K: Return of Kings. After finished reading, I think readers can guess that this chapter was focusing on relationship between Shinatsu. The theme of this chapter is symbolism. For those who read K: Dream of Green, I think you all know that Nagare compared Yukari to a beast which craves for 'beauty', which was another way to express Yukari's karma. In this chapter, based on the two seasons and movie, I think the weapon does symbolize that character's personality and use it as a symbolic image here. Recently, I'm learning literature for my English class so metaphor also became another idea for this one.**

 **Others:**

 **Squirrel and snake: I found that GoRA did make an animal form for each K character so shouldn't Shinatsu also get one? A squirrel. Squirrel is my choice but mentally, Shinatsu's craftiness is similar to a snake despite her 'innocent' appearance.**

 **Kalon: Again, this title is another use of symbolism for Yukari. Kalonn means ideal perfect beauty in physical and moral sense according philosophers of Greece. This refers to Yukari's obsession for beautiful things and his tendency of always polishing himself to be beautiful in both appearance and swordsmanship. Ironically, his moral sense doesn't exactly fit the category of ideal perfect beauty.**

 **That's all for my long A.N and explanation!**


	8. Kink

**#8 Kink**

You've got to crack few eggs to make an omelet. To achieve something, you need to sacrifice something in return. That's how this world works.

 _My conscious regained as my eyelids took effort to open. The first thing I saw was a familiar toy airplane flying on the mid-air in circular motion. I felt the stiffness of a tatami against my back and sensation of a bandage on my face._

The wheel in her head finally functioned after processing her mind. One word summarized her thoughts. Survive.

" _I see, so I'm still alive."_

" _Your real power has awakened. Your weapon has also finally taken its shape. You did very well in such a period of time. I am amazed."_

The first voice she heard was robotic voice belonged to her "King". The Green King who possessed a little child's mindset.

 _Technically, I was able to achieve my goal but alternatively, I lost this battle._

" _I lost my conscious during the battle so it's my loss. And Yukari-san, you didn't kill me when you had the chance?"_

Her first question directed to the beast in human's clothing who was polishing himself. That usual poker faces never left his face.

" _To kill an opponent who lost by default like that isn't beautiful at all. Most of all, you're still a seed that has yet to be a bud."_

 _At that time, I couldn't decipher the real meaning behind those words he said. I didn't even concern about it._

" _However, your radiance was quite beautiful at the last second."_

Beautiful. The word that Mishakuji Yukari would use repeatedly. She narrowly escaped death because he spared her life. This could be the main reason.

" _Don't be full of yourself just because you can use your power. Compare to me, you're still a low level player!"_

 _Gojou Sukuna. It was just recently I discovered he used a lot of videog game terms in his conversation. His mindset was like a child who considered the world as game._

" _Little girl, Iwa-san just made porridge especially for you. Eat well and grow well!"_

 _Iwafune Tenkei. Nagare-san said that this man is his surrogate father and this group's caretaker. Unfortunately, he was like a hopeless old man who had a bad drinking habit._

All the words that she supposed to hear became air. It seemed like choosing to step her foot into this place could be the worst decision ever. Though, worst decision was also why she chose to step her foot into this place.

 _This power was the crystallization of my desire. A premonition of things to come._

* * *

"Your precious has arrived, Yukari-san." Standing at the top of Ashinaka School Island's bridge tower, Shinatsu and Yukari were waiting and overjoyed that their two main targets had arrived.

While her eyes still focused on the two Silver Clansmen at the bottom, she already felt an unhealthy bloodlust next to her.

"It's been a while." The purple-haired man greeted to his _former_ younger brother. "I'm glad to see you again, Kuroh-chan."

His greeting was rewarded with a serious response from the Kuroh. The man who he once tried to kill their master, Miwa Ichigen, was standing in front of him and was also someone who he failed to defeat in Miwashihawa Tower.

"Mishakuji Yukari! What do you come here for?!"

"I thought I told you to call me _Onii-sama_." The said person pouted and his last word made Shinatsu to give him a deadpan look instead.

"Yukari-san. This may sound rude but I think that information is unnecessary." While she was talking, the strings of green lightning had also begun to generate from her fingers.

In contrast, both Kuroh and his fellow clansman, Neko, were surprised at the brown-haired girl with aqua blue colored eyes who was standing next to the purple-haired man. _Enemy_. The first word came to their mind.

 _That reaction usually comes out when people meet an unknown enemy on first meeting._

"That girl over there is your ally, right?" Out of the two, Kuroh was the one who still kept his composure to analyze the situation.

"It's not attractive to ask question you already know answer." Yukari replied with a glance at the brown-haired girl next time him. "She's Kazahinomi Shinatsu, a J-Ranker who serves under the same King as me."

"Yukari-san, leave introduction later please." Shinatsu cut into their conversation but still remained a deadpan look on her face at the two Silver Clansmen. "You two can continue what was left off last time. I'll stay here for sightseeing."

"I shall take those words for granted."

The moment those words came out from his lip, the sword was drawn out from the sheath on his back. A glittering purple light was reflected from the blade in response to sunlight when a thin invisible cut was made on the air. Or, was that purple light his aura?

 _Ayamachi. The name of that word does befit its owner._

While wearing a mask of poker face, Shinatsu was entertained at the transcendent sight that was burning into her memory.

When Yukari released the aura from his sword which created purple sickles that were directed to the black-haired man, he already disappeared from her side.

Opening act had just finished. The main act started with a dance of swords.

When this man wasn't using sword, his actions were similar to a girly transvestite man which made him disqualify from the category adult.

However, this was the first time she had ever seen him fought with so much malice like that, and also with so much enthusiasm like that.

"I see…so that's true form of the beast." She talked to herself quietly. The childish smile that she unconsciously made come back.

Yukari kept slashing the younger one continuously with both of his hands. Both of his hands. The beast kept changing his sword from left hand to right hand like a cycle. He charged and crushed his opponent as if the latter was being forced to dance at the former's pace.

Not only Kuroh was unable to land a hit on the older man despite his continuous attacks, the latter just blocked all of his attacks and he received a smack on his chest from Ayamachi's hilt.

On the other hand, there was something that Shinatsu hated when she was enjoying her own entertainment.

"Don't bully Kuroh!" The one who was supposed to watch at the sideline, Neko, took step into the battlefield and a ringing of bell vibrated. As if it was summoned, a huge and massive yellow tiger with the large kanji of blessing on the stomach emerged.

 _A physical illusion created from her perception manipulation power._

Without a moment of delay, she took a step and leaped from the 30 feet tall tower into mid-air. Alternatively, the strings of lightning extended their length

"Hindrance. Remove"

By whispering two simple keywords, the strings that were scattered around her hand amalgamated into a single, wide green whip of lightning. She swung her arm and the whip elongated and encircled the large tiger. Strangely, the length of the whip also began to decrease as if being ordered to.

"Disappear."

The tiger got squashed as it got restrained by the whip. The force of the grasp made the pink aura accumulated inside the being exploded. Neko got knocked back. Her red umbrella also left her hand, but the second thing she didn't expect was not herself landing on the ground but be tied by the whip. Shinatsu, who was supposed to be in the mid-air, was in front of her standing above the ground.

"Neko!"

"Don't interfere but stay there quietly." Shinatsu ignored Kuroh's shout and her eyes remained focus on her hostage. "Our King requested us to bring you back to him unharmed specifically, Neko-san. No… _Ameno Miyabi-san_."

The heterochromatic eyes girl looked at her captor with a mix of confusion and surprise.

"Ameno? Who's that?"

 _Nagare-san was right. She has no memory about her past._

"You over there, don't you dare lay a hand on my friend!"

Forgot about the battle, Kuroh ran straight to where Shinatsu and Neko were to rescue his friend. Though, Kotowari collided against another blade unexpectedly.

"Kuroh-chan." Through the loud clashing between their swords, Yukari started a conversation casually. "It's not beautiful to look away. Your opponent is over here." He made a kick onto Kuroh's stomach which sent the guy few distances away but he was able to maintain his balance.

"Instead of worrying about your cute little cat friend, you should worry about yourself first."

That was also when Yukari lunged toward him and their sword clashed against each other once again. Shinatsu was satisfied to see the fun when she turned head back to watch their sword battle.

Before they realized, their battlefield shifted from ground to top of of the tower when Jungle's swordsman jumped all the way there. Kuroh used both of his sword and supernatural transparent hand to assault Yukari, but he completely missed his aim as the other just kept dodging.

The two who remained on the land couldn't hear anything except for clanging sound of their swords. A deadly dance was being performed out by protagonist and antagonist. There was no doubt that her comrade was currently mocking the Silver clansman while gyrating.

"Uwah…" The other Jungle's clansman gasped as if she received a shock but the grin on her face betrayed it. "Yatogami Kuroh is completely being pushed into corner. It's a matter of time though."

 _If Silver King doesn't come down to save these two then indirectly, he's even crueler than Nagare-san._

Hearing those words as if they were some sort of omen, following her instinct, Neko tensed all of her muscles to break herself free. It didn't work.

"I don't recommend you to do an obvious action like that. Please do something more secretive next time." She stopped as her heterochromatic eyes nervously looked up to the back of light brown jacket the girl was wearing.

 _If Kurosuke dies, Shiro will be sad. Kurosuke and me have to protect this place until Shiro comes back._

"Ugh!"

From the top of the tower, Kuroh was knocked off to mid-air by the force of Yukari's kick. Although his body did indeed fall and hit on the ground but, he survived. With his Colorless power which minimized impact of the fall.

But-

"You'll remain a bud and die here."

When you thought it was hope, it changed to despair.

Before Kuroh could stand up when he regained his balance, the tip of Ayamachi reached his throat. His frustration could be seen from his eyes that were directed to another pair of lavender eyes.

"Let's go of Kurosuke!"

A voice and ring of bell suddenly resonated at the same time in Shinatsu's ears. Simultaneously, she noticed there was a shade at where she was standing even though it was still sunny.

 _Ah, don't tell me…_

She raised her head and looked at the top, a giant ball that had drawing of a cat was dropping to where she was. Instinctively, her survival instinct told her to dodge it but that was also when it disappeared.

Instead of disappointment or anger, that might be a trap but human's instinct is a scary thing that's hard to defy. She sighed and looked to the side.

 _I knew it._

Neko was currently holding Kuroh, whose throat was still near to the tip of Ayamachi, protectively. Her whole body was shaking in fear. She still tried to put on a bold front.

"Ara~" Amused by the sudden coming of Neko, Yukari was amused.

"My apology, Yukari-san." Shinatsu apologized but not a sincere one. "I just got lost in thoughts of plots."

"It's okay, Shinatsu-chan. Our King wants her so I won't cut her." His lavender closed for one second. At that next second, déjà vu. The exact same pair of eyes that she saw two years ago. The eyes of a beast that filled with desire to kill the prey in front of him.

Yet, Yukari could see that while being cornered, there was no tint of doubt clouded the light in that eyes of Kuroh's. That expression was a beautiful one.

"Yatogami Kuroh. I'll take your life!"

Without hesitation, he swung Ayamachi down and at that moment, a pair of lips just silently whispered.

"The End?"

* * *

 **My exam and school will be over this week so this chapter is a reward for my freedom (not exactly). This chapter is packed with a lot of actions and I want to give an apology if the sword battle between Yukari and Kuroh wasn't so intense like how the anime showed. To be honest, I am not a good writer for action scenes.**

 **The whole battle between Kuroh and Yukari were from Episode 3 of K: Return of Kings. However, in Episode 3, I didn't like the fact that Neko just helplessly watched the whole battle because that didn't suit her personality. From my analysis, Neko is a girl who will charge in even if she knows that her enemy is dangerous. I feel that having her protect Kuroh can show how deep the bonds between her and Kuroh are during the time they were searching for Shiro.**

 **For those who want to understand more about Shinatsu's weapon, you can visit my DeviantArt profile and check her bio.**


	9. Kudos

**#9 Kudos**

Talking birds are separated into two groups, parrots and songbirds. They can imitate and mimic the spoken language of humans, especially those whose are taught by their owners. Out of the two, parrot is a strong talker but their abilities depend on the training they receive. That was what she remembered.

" _He's really smart, Nagare-san, and also very loyal towards you. Though, I have to admit I have never met a parrot like Kotosaka."_

" _Shinatsu! Why?! Why?!"_

 _The little green opened his beak and asked a question. Instead of repeating my speech, he talked his own words._

Unlike humans, parrots don't have vocal chords but instead, they use muscles in their throat to direct airflow and imitate the sounds they hear. Parrots simply repeat what their owners say. A raven can even imitate human speech better. Though, this parrot called Kotosaka may be equal to a raven's level.

" _What do you mean, Shinatsu?"_

 _While petting Kotosaka who somehow landed on her shoulder, even though the parrot preferred Yukari-san's shoulder more, she fed him a small little piece of chicken._

" _Unlike humans, parrots imitate human speech by mimicry through hearing sounds they hear but, to understand human speech and speak their own thoughts isn't like that. Mimicry and genuine are opposite."_

Once, the Green King had said this to her. Humans are all animals. Follow their instincts and be free-spirited. She didn't know whether that was an insult or compliment to humanity.

" _This is the first time I've seen a parrot like Kotosaka. He does mimic human speech but, he can also deliver his own message to people without anyone tells him. A new discovery."_

" _I agree. That is how a human supposed to be. Instead of feeling pressured to follow what other people say, they can just trust their intuition. There is no need for reasoning."_

" _Shinatsu! Nagare! What're you talking about?!"_

 _My attention shifted back to the parrot who seemed to be unsatisfied because he still hasn't got his answer._

Humans are animals. Technically, that statement isn't exactly incorrect. Humans share a common ancestor with some primates, such as apes or monkeys. Indeed, humans and animals share a lot of similarities in term of their way to live, even if their methods are contrary to each other.

 _A grin beamed on my lips as I kept petting Kotosaka's head. I had zero intention to answer his question though._

* * *

Their target, the Silver King Adolf K. Weissman had descended to the ground to save his two clansmen. Their mission did indeed fail but strategically, they succeeded. Ambushing Yatogami Kuroh and Ameno Miyabi was pretext. They were baits to lure him out.

" _And you used my Kuroh as bait. You Kings can be cruel."_

" _Nagare-san's missions always have a real motive after all."_

Strangely, they actually celebrated after that for Silver King's return. However, the next morning, they found Nagare's surrogate father, Tenkei, overflowed with very negative aura.

" _N-No way, is that…"_

" _Kotosaka-chan?!"_

" _Seriously?"_

Ever since the meeting with these people on day one, it was given that Shinatsu's once organized (not exactly) life would be filled with astonishment and eccentricity. She even made a small mental list of the events that occurred in this secret base.

The second most chagrin event in her life, which used to be her first, was when Nagare caught a cold which caused his power to get out of control and everything underwent a weird transformation. All of them obviously also got affected by his power and (their appearance) transformed, saved for her and Sukuna who instead suffered from a dynamic Nagare after the cold medicine he took got transformed into a weird drug.

It was a hectic day because two of them had to deal with an overly-ostentatious King, a hangover old man and a dreadlock-haired narcissist (and last but not least, a nightingale). Uncharacteristically, Shinatsu actually lost her steady composure on that day because the novel she was reading became a pile of kraft papers.

The first, the one replaced her second, was this.

A dish of Kara-age which looked delicious, but it might not be a healthy breakfast. No, the main point wasn't Kara-age.

"N-No way, is that…"

"Kotosaka-chan?!"

"Seriously?"

And now, Shinatsu did seem a little bewildered. Kotosaka wasn't here and because of this Kara-age dish, Tenkei's expression was telling them the Kara-age was Kotosaka.

 _Is it even possible for such a neat-looking Kara-age to be Kotosaka?!_

"What the hell happened?" Sukuna, who was quick to recover, asked with a doubtful expression.

"I don't know. Last night, I got drunk so I don't remember but, vaguely…"

While explaining, Tenkei held his head by his hand with a look which was a mix of guilty and depression. Though, Yukari, Sukuna and her had a clear picture now.

" _Kotosaka! I'll make you into Kara-age!"_

Apparently, he got drunk last night so he couldn't remember what happened because of hangover. The only piece of memory was that sentence which leaded to such conclusion.

The whole story resulted the three Jungle clansmen unable to say anything but remained silence. They didn't know where should they start to retort.

At the same time, the three of them also got to know about Kotosaka's past. How the parrot met Nagare and Tenkei. How the parrot became Nagare's clasman. Unfortunately-

"And now he got turned into this Kara-age." The silver-haired immediately ruined the mood and it made Tenkei depress even more.

"Stop it, Sukuna-chan." Yukari warned the younger one to watch his words.

"And Iwa-san, can't you stop whining please." The girl _comforted_ Tenkei with a deadpan face, though she actually felt this flow was becoming a little bit hysterical.

Most importantly, Shinatsu still couldn't accept the whole story was real. Not because she doubted Tenkei lie but, his explanation was full of holes. She could even imagine Sherlock Holmes would be rolling on the floor laughing if the guy heard this imbecile story.

"Wait a minute, Iwa-san. Once again, don't make a rush conclusion yet."

While having a mantra of blaming himself, her aqua blue eyes gave him a piercing gaze to get his attention. She wasn't amuse at listening to a foolish plot that had such ridiculous idea.

"If you really did kill Kotosaka into that Kara-age then why there isn't any trace of blood here." She pointed her finger directly to the table where the Kara-age dish and Kotosaka's feathers were.

"Blood?" Tenkei tilted his head.

Hearing her statement, the purple-haired man realized what she was trying to say.

"Now that you mention it, if Iwa-san really did kill Kotosaka-chan then there should be at least blood remained here." He tapped his finger at his cheek and observed the whole room. Indeed, there was no blood. Since the old man wasn't sober last night so he could forget to clean up the mess, but there was none.

"Moreover-" Shinatsu picked up the Kara-age dish. "This Kara-age looks too fresh and appetizing to be parrot's meat."

"S-Shinatsu." A trace of tears formed on his eyes. He was touched that the girl actually believed that Kotosaka was still alived.

"T-Then if that Kara-age isn't Kotosaka then I'm sure he's lazing around somewhere. Let's go look for him, Shiantsu, Yukari!" The silver head stood up with a nervous smile. Similar to them, he didn't want to believe such thing could happen.

"Let's go look for him."

"No disagreement."

"You three~"

Tenkei was moved to tears even more now. For the first time, he felt fortunate these three kids actually cared for him _once_. If he did indeed kill Kotosaka, he didn't know how to explain to Nagare.

Or, that was what he thought.

" _The first clansman has stay by his king's side till the end."_

The three clansmen who went outside to find Kotosaka found themselves back to the secret base and watched a video. A video which recorded the whole incident from last night by Nagare.

 _ **FIN**_

"What a beautiful story."

The surrogate father of the Green King felt another sense of déjà vu which caused him to move into tears. Him except for the other four.

Nagare and Kotosaka just watched without any changes on their face. Yukari was fixing his nail. Sukuna simply gasped after the video ended. Shinatsu face palmed slightly on her face at how ridiculous the truth was.

"SO LAME! WE COMPLETELY WASTED OUR TIME WORRYING!"

That was how fridge earned continuous kicks from Sukuna out of anger.

They were worried for Tenkei and Kotosaka, and it turned out the Kara-age was just a normal Kara-age! The old man and stupid parrot only got into an argument last night because that old man didn't allow the parrot to eat chicken. And because he was drunk so he basically forgot!

They really did waste their time for many hours of searching and worrying. The brown-haired girl made a mental note to band him from drinking alcohol for one week.

"So lame." She repeated the same word Sukuna said and gripped the red hair tie on her hair out of annoyance.

* * *

 **It is 31** **st** **December and in my country, tomorrow is New Year 2017 so I wanted to upload on last day of this year. This chapter focuses on Kotosaka. I also try to expand Nagare's theory that "Humans are animals" that he said to Munakata in Episode 7 of K: Return of Kings. I was intrigued by his theory because he believes that humans should throw away reason which is a limiter that prevents them use their strength to maximum.**

 **it is from Chapter 3 of K: Dream of Green. It is the funniest chapter of the manga so I want to use it. I also briefly mention the Drama CD of Jungle, Noisy Cold. For readers who haven't listen to this Drama CD, I recommend this Drama CD because every time I listen to it, I laugh. Anyway, hope all the readers love this chapter.**


	10. Killjoy

**#10 Killjoy**

Initially, the existence of King became the bridge which connected to her to the social network service called Jungle. But, they say 'people can change as time passes', isn't it? That connection had also changed to finding about Green King's motives.

 _First step was inputting handle name. I thought about the word which was best fit to describe myself and typed._

 _『つむぎ』_ _\- Tsumugi._

 _Now, I couldn't help thinking that this name did represent my new life in Jungle because, Nagare-san was the one who brought me to this place from those ordinary days. By playing this abnormal app, I felt that I was weaving my own tale known as life without knowing the ending._

The Skill she acquired when she reached to G-Ranker. The first Item she bought with her Jungle points.

 _The first Item I bought, [Peak Jump], it unexpectedly improved my jumping strength magnificently._

 _A supernatural ability which was the most compatible with me among the list. When I clicked the button [Infinity Strings] Skill, the body temperature of my hands raised and thousands of lightning strings emerged from my fingers._

Other than books, those were the first things she obtained into her hands by her own strength. It was neither imagination or illusion but reality.

 _Fun. Was that the best word for this emotion? Was that why I ran away from that house while my parents were away? Was what why I was willing to throw away my place?_

" _ **Tsumugi, what purpose do you have to be J-Ranker?"**_

 _Was that why Yukari-san called me a beast when I gave him my answer?_

* * *

24th December is the day of Christmas Eve, which takes place before Christmas Day, the day Lord Jesus born. Many countries worldwide celebrate in Christmas Eve on the night before Christmas and this tradition still continues today. This year, all the people in Shizume City will also celebrate, or that is how supposed to be…

 _If that is that you want, then it is war._

Nagare offered an alliance with the Silver King. He wanted two of them to release the power of Dresden Slate to promote the promote the evolution of mankind. Though, there was no way the Silver King would agree to do such a dangerous plan.

"Christmas Eve of this year now becomes the prelude of world's destruction."

Her response when Nagare asked his clansmen's for their attention for the third time as he was explaining the plan. The day of the war was coming near but none seemed to be neither nervous or anxious. Each of them simply continued their usual activity without listening. This also applied to the girl who was focusing at the novel on her hands.

"Come on you three, pay attention. He may not look like it but he's still our king." Tenkei who had been drinking his can of beer suddenly raise his voice. "Stop fooling around and show the guy some respect."

The old man's assistance made Nagare raise his eyebrows instead. "Seems to me you are the one with the least respect, Iwa-san."

 _Do you know the contrast between your actions and words are quite surreal?_

"Iwa-san, it's not like I'm being ignorant." Shinatsu said as her aqua-blue eyes made contact with his before she returned to the next page. "Before war, reading book allows my concentration to be more focused. Most of all, imagining a scenario beyond one's wildest dreams which surpasses this book is like looking at a precious gemstone."

Following her chuckle, Yukari also moved his attention to the old man from the mirror he was using to check his face.

"Don't get me wrong, Iwa-san. I'm just fixing myself for the coming battle. I want to make sure I look gorgeous and elegant as I walk through battlefield. My heart is filled with excitement that I'm ready to draw my beloved Ayamachi anytime."

After Yukari's explanation, even Sukuna who was lying on the tatami and playing game also woke up to sitting position.

"I'm playing games to keep myself busy. Otherwise, I can't stop myself from wanting to go out and fight."

Hearing response from each person, there was no change on the Green King's straight face but, it seemed that he was satisfied to know all of them had enough motivation for the upcoming battle.

"Well then, after we take possession of the Slates, we will have a lavish Christmas party and celebrate."

Hearing the word 'Christmas party' from Nagare, Shinatsu secretly thought how ironic the whole situation was. The Christmas that they were going to celebrate for victory was not out of blessing for God or innocent desire like children play. It was for the achievement of a destructive device for the climax of their game.

Yet for all of the memebrs here, it might be actually out of their own innocent desires.

"You see? We're all pumped up and ready to go."

"And you know me…I'll just be relaxing and drinking my beer."

"All we need to do is to wait for the signal to advance to enemies' headquarter."

While Sukuna, Tenkei and Shinatsu responded back with their usual reaction, there was an exception.

"Nagare-chan, isn't it unusual for you to hold an official meeting like this before a job?" Yukari who just finished his skin care, raised a question while mesmerizing himself from the mirror. "Could it be you're starting to feel a little insecured?"

"As if. Right, Nagare?"

"Well…I must admit an alliance of the Silver, Red and Blue Kings is formidable. However," The Green King ended the sentence with a straight face. "-it is an easy win for me."

His reply to his clansmen had brought out the snickering sound from Shinatsu. No one could see her expression which was covered by her bangs but, it was rare for her stoic face to be broken.

"Shinatsu?" Nagare tilt his head in confusion at her attitude.

"My apology, Nagare-san…Your almighty confidence is exceptionally amusing." She tried to hold her laugh for a few seconds and decided to put the book on her lap. "Strategically, the other side has more advantages if you have to face the 3 Kings alone but, an easy win is for the _main character_ who will appear at last minute, right?"

While her aqua-blue colored eyes scanned at the said individual, the words came out of her mouth were pronounced and said gleefully. The whole room was silence but obviously, everyone had the same thought.

"Shinatsu, is that a sarcasm?" The middle-aged man smirked and took another sip of his beer.

"It's a straightforward comment, that's all." She shrugged her shoulders. Even though sometimes this room could be enveloped by silence, a common thing was everyone wore a smile like a Cheshire cat.

 _There is nothing more satisfied, nor more interesting, than to confront an unpredictable situation._

A person could say her motivation was twisted. A person could say her demeanor was aggressively abnormal. But, Shinatsu had no longer believed in the existence of the word "sane" anymore.

* * *

 **There is a small note here. The ideas about Jungle Item, Skill and handle name do not belong to me. All of these are from the novel K: Side Green which focuses on Sukuna's past and his journey on climbing up to J-Rank. The novel provides further details about Jungle System. I want to say thank you to a friend of mine who scanned the novel and sent it to me so I could understand more about Jungle. I am not a good translator so I hope someone who is good at Japanese could translate the novel especially for those who are followers of Jungle. I could provide more details about Jungle system if you want to know more.**

 **Shinatsu's handle name, Tsumugi is wrriten** **つむぎ** **in Japanaese. It is from the Kanji** **紡** **which means "to weave a tale". I think this word represents her overall's world view about humanity which was mostly influenced by Nagare's ideals and Jungle. Of course she still has her ambition but, Nagare's dream had caused her to hope to see the tale which is weaved by him.**

 **Additionally, I also want to give an explanation about Shinatsu's skills. Before she received her power as permanent from Nagare, her Jungle Skill was "Infinity Strings". Though, after received her power as permanent, Shinatsu thought about the possibility of making a transformation on her power now that it belongs to her own. Personally, before I read the novel, I thought that if the J-Ranker received permanent power from Nagare, shouldn't their power also change into something else as a form of level up. Unfortunately, I was surprised GoHands did use it considering Jungle's mechanism works like a game. The novel did not provide this detail but, GoHands actually created a gap which allowed me to use this idea.**

 **Update: After reading K: Side Green, I missed a lot of important details about the organization of Jungle system. So, I am going to edit Chapter 3 for the conversation between Shinatsu and Yukari. This was because while Yukari knew Shinatsu's real name from Nagare, he decided to call her by her handle name anyway.**


	11. Kafkaesque

**#11 Kafkaesque**

 _While having flashbacks of those peaceful days, a certain thought came up to my mind._

Walking a path full of bright future and never stray from it. That is what righteousness is…

 _The innocent feelings of hoping to discover new things through books stimulated my curiosity. However, the root of devil which changed it to greed was-_

But it seems like she was hated by that righteousness.

 _-only because I was bored. I was bored of this monochrome world which did not have what I was searching for._

Possibility. The possibility of an unpredictable and abnormal world that could break the panorama of the so called "peace" world she kept looking at everyday.

" _Curiosity. The Jungle's system established by the Green King was really intriguing for me. I want to know the next scenario he is going weave because I could what I desire the most."_

Consequencely, the answer appeared in front of her was Hisui Nagare.

" _I was hoping there would be something in it for me. By placing yourself somewhere closed to raw emotions, human's nature would appear. Something beyond my expectation may occur there. I don't know whether that is good or evil though."_

That was her reply after a series of flashbacks and deduction. Something surpasses her expectation. That was the knowledge she craved for.

" _In other word, your desire is not to be J-Ranker, neither power or freedom, but to know and see what the Green King is planning to achieve?"_

 _I was slightly confused at the words came out from him. Yet, I decided to continue._

" _Man fears unknown thing that should not learned and yet, at the same time, man is drawn unknown. It is a singular event that none may reverse in life. That is the flow I'm currently walking and there is a mass of conundrum. That is what I desire."_

 _I didn't know what Yukari-san was thinking in his head. How did I look in front of him?_

" _You are a child that does have a place to return but, for your own greed, you were willing to throw away to the side. No, you don't even have a second thought to turn back."_

In the midst of silence, those words continued to echo inside her mind.

" _Right now, you neither have a place to return or destination. You just walk on a thorny path recklessly to satisfy your own greed. So, if I have to describe in one sentence-"_

Even now, those words still engraved inside her heart.

" _-you are a gluttony beast."_

* * *

"Merry Christmas! We come to get the Slates!"

"Shouldn't it be _robbery_ instead of _get_?"

Shinatsu retorted Yukari's words of celebration as they walked through the tattered gate. Yes, tattered gate. The gate which was Mihashira Tower's entrance gate few seconds ago until it got destroyed instantly by this effeminate man with two slashes of Ayamachi and became these bunch of debris. They just walked inside enemy's base, as though walking around one's own garden at home.

As usual, Sukana who was excited for a battle made a 180 degrees jump into the lobby. Talk about a dramatic entrance. And in front of them were Scepter 4's clansmen.

"Guess the only one worth any points here is their number two, Awashima Seri!" Literally, Sukana got into his battle stance and advanced to where the enemies were.

Instead of attacking Sukuna and fighting back, the clansmen just dodged and moved back further continuously.

"It's so obvious that they're trying to stall the time." Instead of rushing quickly to catch up, Shinatsu continued to take her steps without changing the pace. Both of her hands were inside the pocket of her gray cardigan along with the rod.

The very same with Yukari. They preferred to not waste their energy over such trivial thing right now.

"It seems that they take a game of tag first before the main battle. Luring us further into the building and counterattack."

She gestured her gaze towards the Blue clansmen who kept running from Sukuna without taking the boy head-on. It really did make sense.

 _Those guys really thought everything will go according to the plan Silver King devised?_

She did not want to act something shamelessly like arrogance but, she believed the other two also had the same thought. Silver King did have all information related to their King but, Nagare was not a man who would be dancing in the palm of someone's hand. Instead, it was the other way.

"Then it's going to be a matter of time before Nagare-san decided to make on his move anyway." A sigh came out of her mouth in response to the swordsman's statement.

Although, it seemed that the word "patience" did not exist on a certain young boy's dictionary.

"You trashy characters! Stop running and take me seriously!" The silver-haired boy shouted in frustration as he made another swing with the scythe on his hands.

Green blade clashed against the sword's blue aura, releasing firework-like sprinkles which dispersed into the air. The force separated two individuals further from each other while the weapons remained on their hands.

Once again, the blue clansmen continued being mouse of the game.

* * *

Mishakuji Yukari. Gojou Sukuna. Kazahinomi Shinatsu.

The Green King, Hisui Nagare, might be almost invincible but there was a time limit for him when he used his power to the maximum. It was decided that the fight against the Green Clan wouldn't be center on him, but the three executives whose job was to clean up the battlefield.

The first strategy would be hindering their movements as much as possible.

While sitting in front of the computer screen inside the car, Saruhiko continued to tap the keyboard along with the other clansmen of Scepter 4.

"Fushimi-san, all the traps in the entire building have been prepared. Now we only need to wait until Vice Captain and her men withdraw!" Enomoto, who was in charge of the computer next to him, reported the situation.

"Roger. When those three arrive to the waiting point, activate 'Entrapment Normal Deployment'." When his finger made contact a certain button of the keyboard, another screen which showed their enemies from security camera.

 _Following Silver King's plan, separate those three monsters and lure them to where each clan is waiting for them in different floor. Using our full course traps to weaken their fighting power._

The second-greatest obligation after the Green King would be the three executives attacking together. They possessed overwhelming power when it came to using brute force after all.

Another common factor shared between these three that Fushimi learned and disliked.

"Luring those troublemakers is going to be the most troublesome one."

They enjoyed creating havoc as though they were playing games.

* * *

 _Yare, yare, so they finally start to pull out their first move. Now, I should shift from defense to offense._

Before she realized, Shinatsu found herself alone without the two comrades who were with her. In front of her was a fire door that suddenly came down out of nowhere from the top.

They got trapped but-

"Yukari! Shinatsu! Let's have a race and see who gets to the top the fastest!"

It seemed that the one who enjoyed this situation the most would be Sukuna. Then, she inhaled deeply and let it out in a sigh again, turning her back to the door and took out her silver rod.

 _What kind of methods are they going to use to hinder us?_

The moment her right hand was surrounded by strings of green lightning entwined with each other, a noise from the ceiling caught her attention. In instance, her dull eyes of vividness glowed at the sight of multiple metal needles shooting down at her direction

 _Trap!_

The image retained into her eyes and her whole body was trembling with excitement. Gripping the rod tighter, all the strings joined at one single point and and the spring color whip projected from it.

Shinatsu raised the rod, the elongated whip moved around her body in a spiral course, protecting her from the metal needles like a barrier. All the needles got rebounded and landed towards different points of the wall at her sides.

As soon as all the needles were out of sight, she sprinted immediately from the spot. The the whip reverted to the standard length followed by her will.

Just not too long ago, she was dazed for a moment. But, all those thoughts had been casted out like garbage got dumped into the trash can.

Her low ponytail kept fluttering up and down in the air. Her legs focused on running. While running, she remembered the last time she engaged in combat was the incident in Ashinaka School Island.

Looking at logically, a person should tremble with fear. Ironically, Shinatsu-

"I've been waiting impatiently for this to happen."

-was all smiles.

"I'm getting my hopes up."

Then, she caught a glimpse of the next trap prepared for her.

* * *

 **I was never a good writer in actions so I actually went through different novels with action scenes and looked at their description. The part which entertained me the most in this chapter the last scene of Shinatsu used her weapon. Until Episode 6 of K: Return of Kings, all the previous episodes lacked a lot of actions so I did not have so much opportunities to elaborate Shinatsu's abilities.**

 **The title of this chapter, Kafkaesque, was a pretty difficult vocabulary that I had never seen before. In the dictionary, the word was defined as impending danger. It did match with the event of this chapter because Nagare and his clansmen finally stood up to the front stage after hiding in the shadows for so long. The next chapter is going to be a full course of actions! My final exam will be coming in November so the next update is going to be in December!**


	12. Kludge

**A deep apology to all the readers who were looking forward to the new chapter in December. I encountered an unexpected incident. My laptop screen was broken to the point that it could not be fixed and I had to live without my laptop. As expected, I lost all the documents from my laptop and even the new chapter I was typing so I had to start from square zero. Now I finally get a laptop, I have to restart this. Anyway, I was able to remember all the details of the new chapter and finished this. My deepest regret was not putting all of my documents inside a backup drive! Please enjoy!**

* * *

 **#12 Kludge**

Sometimes, she couldn't understand Hisui Nagare.

 _Although I learned that Nagare-san is someone who_ _blurts out_ _his opinion honestly without a second thought_ _but_ _, there were also many times I couldn't have a grasp of what he was thinking._

Living in a place surrounded by people was a new experience for her. Yet, she felt the relationship between these people was pretty unique. Neither horizontal or vertical.

 _The man treated all of us equally, seeming to be equally comfortable with all of us. There weren't any exceptions. He also didn't look at us with condescending attitude. A King who never behaved like a King._

All of them were totally different from each other, yet when Hisui Nagare was around, they would naturally swarm towards him, like a fire attracts people.

 _But, I could tell that the relationship each of us shared with him wasn't the same. In this place, king and vassals didn't exist._

Respect, favoritism or loyalty. None of it existed there.

 _The best word to describe was 'mismatching'. To the point where I could express that the chemistry between us should have been a bad one._

They weren't brought together by a common cause or emotion. Taking each other hands was only out of personal interest.

 _Nagare-san and Iwa-san might be an exception. However, Yukari-san, Sukuna and me embraced a different feeling for Nagare-san._

 _Nagare-san and Sukuna are like friends of same age despite age differences._

 _Nagare-san and Yukari-san are like partners formed from an alliance who aim for same goal._

 _And me..._

Once, she asked the King a question.

" _Nagare-san, did you "invite" me to Jungle only because I succeeded on becoming J-Ranker?"_

 _I only asked him out of whim. To be honest, I didn't have a deep thought about the question. Though, the person was different._

" _That was also a reason but,_ _if I were to say, it was your eyes?"_

" _My eyes?"_

" _To be accurately, there was no doubt in your eyes. When we first met, I did say that your tenacity for knowledge was frightening. You do not care about good or evil."_

 _He rephrased those quotes perfectly. Now come to think of it, this person did have the talent to see through my true nature._

" _Your eyes projected every raw emotion without fabrication. You used quick thinking ability of yours to climb up all the way here. There was no gap in both of your head and blood, and they were united."_

' _Nagare-san, that remark of yours would be a rude one to Nakajima Atsushi.', or that was what I wanted to retort but decided to keep it inside my mind._

" _For a moment, it made me remember the me of 14 years ago. So, I thought 'I wanted both of her knowledge and ability.'"_

 _Hearing that conclusion, I stared at him with my mouth wide-opened for a moment. Did that mean I got 'invited' into Jungle by this man's impulsive force?_

There was surprise but no anger or bewilderment. Maybe…

" _Have someone ever told your that you can be utterly absentminded sometimes?"_

 _Unfortunately, he just returned with tilting his head out of confusion._

" _It's something like that."_

 _I simply sighed in defeat at this King's natural airhead. However…_

" _Nagare-san, I don't hate that part of you."_

She actually felt something known as "happy".

 _Before I realized, both me and Nagare-san would often consult about a lot of things whenever we were alone._

* * *

The moment this mission started, Shinatsu had expectation that this was going to be similar to events from sci-fi novels she read. Infiltrating the enemies headquarter and encountering several type of traps prepared for the protagonist.

She had expected many things from this mission but she never expected…this.

Destroying the fire doors? Easy. Passing through the pitfalls? Piece of cake. Trying not to get caught by the electricity? A little harder, but she managed with her jacket receiving small burns.

But having to keep doing the same thing at every floor she climbed? Now _that_ was a bit of a problem.

 _Can't they at least be more creative with the traps? Even a labor worker will be bored from having to do the same task repeatedly!_

Irritating was the perfect word to describe her mood. She had no doubt Yukari and Sukuna were having the same thought as her.

 _Ah, what a troublesome situation._

She only wished there would be something that could change this flow to entertain her. While dashing, she swung her whip again to destroy another fire door.

"Not again…" Her lips formed a thin line after noticing the very same silhouettes of three people beyond the dust and smoke. Scepter 4 vice-captain, Awashima Seri, and another two Blue clansmen.

 _Well, our plan has been progressing pretty well so far. The rest would be up to Nagare-san._

When their views were no longer blocked by the smoke, Awashima exerted her Aura into the saber and swung it with all her might twice, thus forming into a blazing arrow gliding towards Shinatsu.

In contrast, Shinatsu also swung the lightning whip which elongated once again and made contact with the arrow, creating vibrational motion until the blue arrow was rebounded to the side of the wall in less than one second.

Much to her disappointment, another fire door descended between her and Scepter 4 clansmen.

 _Although I'm not Yukari-san but, this strategy of stalling the time isn't beautiful at all._

Shinatsu looked at the fire door wearily before sighing in what strangely sounded like defeat. "It seems like the Silver King does have a talent for touching people's nerves."

It actually reminded her of Nagare. Though, that King didn't aware about it so she lacked energy to speak it out loud.

"Even if this is for Nagare-san's sake but…" She leaped off her feet and continued her fight against the monotony traps again. "At least the enemies should do something about that narrow-minded head of theirs please!"

Her hand gripped harder on the whip as hundreds thin strings of electricity emerged from the green whip which was the sign of more Aura got poured into the weapon. Her attacks kept advancing continuously from one floor after another without hesitation.

No matter how much they complained during the whole journey to the top, in the end, all of them continued to swing their weapon for the sake of "their" King.

Neither out of respect, favoritism or loyalty. They simply wanted to enjoy the present in front of them and desired to the future known as "possibility".

"Ara? Yukari-san is the first to arrive here."

When another fire door was destroyed, she saw the effeminate man standing at the side which was opposite to the clansmen of Scepter 4 and HOMRA.

* * *

 **Once again, I typed the details of this chapter in related to another theme. This time, the theme is "relationship". Some parts of the flashback are reference from the translation of K: Side Green Interview with GoRA Orange I found from Tumblr. Reading the interview and K:Side Green novel again allowed me to understand further about the relationships between each member. How they felt about each other as an individual. How Nagare viewed his Clansmen when he wanted them to become his ally. Thus, it gave me an opportunity to give a question about what kind of relationship does Nagare and Shinatsu shared.**

 **The quote "There was no gap in both of your head and blood" on Nagare's line is a reference to the quote "The head may err, but never the blood" from Nakajima Atsushi's novel** _ **Light, Wind, and Dreams**_ **. This quote suddenly reminded me of Jungle's actions and attitudes when they fight against enemies and at itself, especially Nagare. It explains the nature of instinct over reasoning in judgement and decision-making.**


End file.
